//------------------------------// // Into the Spirit forest // Story: The Little Pony Legend: A New Beginning // by MaggiesHeartLove //------------------------------// *(~)* 1 John 3:17~  "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" *(~)* Into the Spirit forest The island was a lot larger than the kids expected and, as typical of the Spirit World, there were surprises almost everywhere. They had already traveled a long distance in what felt like no more than thirty minutes, though given the time on their respected geo-phones it was no doubt longer. Never the less, there was no denying the beauty this realm had to offer. The children made their way through a vast jungle garden with plants of all sizes. Flowers that shaded them like umbrellas with their beautifully vibrant and colorful petals that gave off a sweet exotic aroma, and the sun kissed leafs billowed softly in the subtle breeze. Akari and Iris were already zooming back and forth, taking as many pictures as possible of the plants with their geo-phones. "This place is so beautiful." Iris said, her violet eyes sparkling. "I know! I've never seen flowers like these back home. Oh, look!" Akari flapped her wings to take more picks of the large red star shaped berries with splashes of white and blue. "Check out these rubus parviflorus. I've never seen any in this size." "Rubo-what?" Hiro asked. "Thimbleberries." Gallant clarified, also taking pictures of the said plants, more of which were down bellow, and with multiple colorings unlike any he had ever seen. Some plants even looked like they had been meshed together with another, yet they looked perfectly preserved and healthy. "I didn't think there could be such diverse colorings for this species of Rosioidea." he said, mesmerized by the beauty. He felt a light breeze and looked up to see Iris admiring the same plants that grew on a tree branch right above him. "You're right." Iris gasped snapping more pictures. "Look how they glisten in the sunlight. It's like freshly fallen snow during the Glacier Spirits Festival back at the South Pole." Nori was squalling with delight, her eyes twinkling. "They're absolutely gorgeous! The colors, the textures, I feel like I'm back at my old sea garden from when I was a mer-filly!" "Glad you're enjoying it you guys, but maybe we should move it along." Mai mentioned while still looking at the map on her geo-slate. "You know, before we run into something far less appealing than the plants." "Yeah, Mai's got a good point." Iris said. "For all we know, the others might have finally figured out we're gone." "Good call." Hiro said. "I mean, your mom is scary enough, but ours is…." Hiro shuddered at the thought. As kind-hearted as Asami was, needles to say, some small subtle traces of her late father did tend to make their way up to the surface from time to time. The others nodded in agreement and walked further into the forest. The plants continued to change into different varieties. Only now, for some reason, the aura everywhere started to shift and change. No longer feeling welcoming and peaceful, but rather ominous. Hiro was already feeling like his feet were on fire. He groaned and leaned against a nearby log. A growl was heard from his stomach, which he gripped. "Ah man, I'm getting hungry." "Then eat some of Aiwei's spirit cakes." Mai said. "I already did. And the chocolate bars I had in there." "You mean you already ate all your food?!" "Hey, I didn't have any breakfast, and Aiwei's cakes, though delicious, are a little too light for an athlete such as myself. I need my protein." he immediately spotted something not too far off. A single red, shinny fruit hanging from a single plant. He smiled and hurried towards it. "Now we're talking!" "Uh, Hiro, I wouldn't do that!" Gallant said, reaching out to stop him. "For all we know, it could be poison." "Actually, the spirit world has nothing poisonous." Iris stated. "While a lot of its floral and fauna can be dangerous, a lot of them can be used for healing purposes." "Not really helping." "Come on, like I'm gonna be afraid of a pretty flower." Hiro grabbed the shinny red treat, only for a long green tentacle to wrap around his wrists and ankles. The same thing happened to Gallant Steed, who narrowed his eyes. "You were saying?" The two boys screamed in terror once they were being lifted up from the ground by the massive vines that took on lives of their own. "Hiro! Gallant!" the friends cried out as the ground beneath the still dangling boys began to rise upwards, revealing to have been some kind of venus fly trap flower, lowering the two boys into its center to be devoured. "For the record, I blame you for this!" Gallant angrily shouted to Hiro right before the fly trap wrapped its massive reddish violet petals closed. "Let my brother go!" Mai shouted as she charged and leaped at the plant, throwing multiple fire blasts at the creature, followed by Akari. The two firebenders blasted at the plant, but to no avail. Instead, its vines then began wrapping themselves around the two girls. They screamed and struggled to break free of the grip, only to get tossed away by them, colliding with either another nearby plant or the trunk of a tree. Iris and Nori rushed to their side to help. Akari shook her head, growled in anger and picked up one of her knives. "That's it! I'm tearing it from the roots!" she was just about ready to charge until Chi stopped her. "If you do that the plant will slap shut forever!" "How do you know?" "Nova and I had a run in with one of these things once. I know how to get it to spit them out." Hiro managed to pry himself out of the plan long enough to shout, "Now would be nice!" right before the vines pushed him back in and he screamed from the inside. The two boys were pressed together, back to back. Gallant's ear them twitched in alarm. "Why do I feel wet all of a sudden?" "Is this really the time to be talking about your weak bladder?" Hiro said. As if the situation wasn't bad enough already. "Not that kind of wet!" "Wait, I feel it too." Looking down, the two saw the inside of the plant already beginning to fill up with water. "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Hiro asked, though given the tremble in his voice, he felt he already knew the answer. "It's trying to digest us!" Gallant shouted, desperately trying to climb upwards, but the plant was also emitting the same smily liquid on its petals, making it harder to climb. "Bad thing, got it. HELP!" "Hang on, boys! I'm coming!" Chi hurried towards the plant, indadvertedly using her super speed, which only caused her to harshly bump right into the plant. While she managed to squish it a bit with her collision, she was bounced right back like a bouncy ball, hitting a tree. Chi shook the pesky leafs off of her body and rolled up her sleeves. "Okay, one more time." "Hurry!" Mai exclaimed, already growing more and more anxious by the minute. Chi focused her energy, taking in slow deep breaths, calculating a plan in her mind. Once set, she ran towards the plant once more and leaped into the air, maneuvering the incoming vines trying to stop her and shrunk her body to the size of a ferret to squeeze her way in through the top opening. "This is your plan?" Gallant said, seeing the tiny Chi now with them. The wisp ignored him and proceeded to dive into the disgusting green waters. Chi gagged for a moment before taking in a deep breath and diving right in. She swam down to reach the center. Morphing her hand into a knife, she cut it open, only to see two colored stems. One green and one red. It had been so long ago, she forgot which one it was that needed to be cut first. From the outside, the plant was already starting to sink down to the ground. Iris and Akari acted fast and flew over the plant. "Hey you overgrown weed! Over here!" Iris called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. One of the vines came at her, to which Iris grabbed with her bare hands, yanking on it with all of her might. Akari did the same thing by grabbing another vine and puling on it. Mai flipped over one of the vines before grabbing it as well. Nori dodged one before outstretching her hand to grab it. With the vines all subdued, the girls yanked on it, hoping to keep it from going down further. Mai seemed to be having the less trouble, given her new super strength, but knew if she yanked too hard she'd tear it from the roots and she'd lose her brother and best friend for good. Rather than decide which stem to cut, Chi, simply cut both of them at the same time. But the waters were rising fast, literally blasting her away, and the boys were now up to their necks in water. From the outside, no matter how hard they tried to pull, the plant seemed to be sinking further downwards. Mai decided to give it her all and took the other vine from Nori and cemented her feet in a certain position and yanked hard on the plant, which let out a deadly cry as it was pulled further upwards. From inside, Chi now had her foot trapped by Gallant and Hiro's pressed bodies, but never the less she outstretched her arm, increasing the size of the knife as farthest as she could master and with one finally grunt she managed to slice the two stems right in half. From above, the tree ceased its sinking and instead started to increase in size. The vines stopped moving, allowing for Mai, Iris and Akari to release them. The plant beam bloated and then spewed the three friends right out, all the while splattering its disgusting green slime all around, even on the girls. Thankfully, Nori managed to shield herself and Mai with her pearls, while Iris and Akari used traditional force fields. Hiro and Gallant landed on the now deceased remains of the carnivorous plant, one on top of the other, both covered in slime, while Chi casually lowered herself down, now back to her normal size and changing her hand back to normal. The rest of the girls hurried towards the boys, happy to see them alive. "Hiro, you're okay!" Mai said happily, ready to hug her brother… only to stop halfway upon remembering the fact that he smelled worse than his dirty laundry. "And… slimy." Hiro shuddered in disgust as he wiped the muck from his cloths and hair. "Barfed up by a plant. I don't know if that sounds cool or just plain weird." "I'm gonna go with mortifying." Gallant said, using his magic to levitate whatever slimy substances remained, while Iris did the same for her cousin, cleaning him up. Akari surprised Gallant with a tight hug. He was a bit startled at first but then returned the embrace. Once they separated, Akari noticed some more slime on her shirt. She giggled. "I think I found what was left." "Oh, sorry. And, thanks." "Chi, you did it." Iris said to the wisp, who had just finished wiping the last bit of slime off of her cloths. "Yeah. We owe ya." Hiro said. Chi simply shook her head and scoffed. "Please. Like I'm ever going to let my friends become plant food." "How's about, when we get back home we leave out the part about Hiro and Gallant almost getting eaten alive by a giant spirit plant, kay?" Mai said. The others nodded in agreement. (~) The wolf changeling arrived and dropped watt appeared to be the carcass of some kind of winged creature, when in reality it was just a disgusting looking plant with feathers. The plant was dropped on the stone table, where Starlight Glimmer was hard at work. The table was filled with an assortment of books, chemicals and bizarre ingredients from all walks of life. There were rocks and plants from Equestria, exotic fruits from the fire nation along with sooth and fish remains from the arctic waters of the water tribes and flower petals from plants indigenous to the Earth Federation country lands, jungles and forests, and swamps. She even recognized some seeds and other plants and pieces of fruit from Air Temple Island. Books from ancient Equestrian times with withered and torn pages and covers were stacked one on top of the other, a few being levitated by Starlight's magic. She dared to look up, seeing all of her friends hanging helplessly from the ceiling. One of the changeling wolves crawled near the one that kept her husband, hissing at her while aiming his claws near his face. "Keep your claws in, I'm working on it." Starlight snapped back, her ears pressed back in anger and annoyance. As if being held prisoner wasn't bad enough. (~) "Eh, here we go, the humid part of the spirit world." Nori pulled out some seaweed lotion from her backpack and rubbed her arms and face with it. Three to four hour passed, and by the looks of it, they were making good time. "How much further now?" Mai looked at the map on the geo-slate alongside Iris. "Good news and bad news." Iris said. "Goods news is, we should be there in at least another hour or so." "Yay! So, what's the bad news?" "We're going to have to go through… there." Iris pointed her finger towards the opening a very large and, rather spooky looking cave that looked more like the skull of some kind of dead dragon-like creature. Gallant gulped at its gigantic size, while Akari gripped the sash of her backpack tightly. "You sure that thing's not on the fritz or something?" Nori asked aiming to poke the geo-slate, which resulted in Mai swatting her hand away. "Unlikely." "Why?" "Because I made it. Also, I scanned the area literally fifteen times on the way here, and this is the only path that will take us to the Dark Realm in time." Iris hovered over her cousin, looking at the path. She saw the neon glowing pathway leading into the cave, with a wide opening on the other side. "There's an exit right at the end of it." iris adjusted her backpack and was the first to fearlessly walk through the cave. "Come on." "Iris, wait up!" Akari cried and ran behind her. The rest of the kids all stared at one another before silently coming to the inevitable decision to enter the cave. Gallant Steed had his ears pressed back against his head. "This isn't so bad." he lied to himself out loud. "I mean, once you get past the fact that it's a dark… long… and, very enclosed… pathway." he gulped, already feeling the walls closing in around him. "It's fine. No worries. Uh, is anybody else feeling a shiver?" he hugged himself, trembling from the invisible chilling air that had just picked up. Akari reached out to grab his hand, which caught him completely off guard. "Gallant, relax. It's gonna be okay." she said in the sweetest voice she could muster. Gallant started to slowly hyperventilate. "I'm sorry. Is it me or is it getting colder?" "Gallant!" Akari gripped both of his shoulders and shook him back to his senses. "Deep breaths." she inhaled and exhaled slowly, which Gallant mimicked. "Good. Now, just close your eyes." he did as she said. "Take my hands, and just listen to the sound of our voices, okay? Don't think about the cave, just walk with us. Alright?" Gallant nodded his head while taking in deep breaths. "Okay. I can do this." "There we go." Akari, while gripping his hand, led him along with the rest of the group. To them, the cave looked pretty much of the average size, though a bit enclosed, but the darkness definitely gave it more the illusion that it was even tighter than it actually was. But, so long as Gallant kept his eyes closed and listened to the sound of his friend's voices, and the warmth in his chest that came with Akari's hand in his, was slowly easing his anxiety. Iris and Mai both gave Akari smug grins, while Nori was visibly, but quietly, gushing over how adorable they looked, and Chi was making mute kissing faces. Akari's face turned red and gave them a "cut it out" hand gesture to shut them up. The team went on, with Mai and Akari using their flames to light the way. Iris created an orb of light, increasing the light, which also helped Gallant, who still kept his tees closed. As they went on, Hiro started humming a catchy tune until the words reached his mouth. "Hi, ho. Hi, ho. Into the cave we go. *whistle* Hi, ho. Hi, ho. Hi--" "Hiro, enough with the song." Mai snapped. "It's gonna get stuck in my head all day." "Okay." at least five more minutes went by before Hiro was singing another song, even catchier than the first one, complete with beatbox effect. "In the Dark Realm, the scary Dark Realm, the evil spirits sleep tonight. In the Dark Ream, the scary--" "Knock it off, Hiro!" Hiro complied… only to start singing an entirely different song a few moments later. "Let it go, let it go. Can't hold it back anymore! Let it--" "How about you let it go?" Nori even shook her head. "Yeah, even I'm sick of that one." Finally, Hiro made one final attempt at lightening the mood with one of his annoying ear worms. He played air guitar while singing the oldest song out of all of them. "Secret tunnel! Secret Tunnel! Through the mountain--" Mai's growled and stopped in her tracks, one hand gripping her geo-slate while the other held her flame, which increased in heat, reflecting her emotions. "Hiro, I swear if you don't stop I'm going grab the biggest rock I can find and squash you with it!" Hiro rose his hands up in surrender. "Okay, somebody doesn't like the classics." "How much farther now?" Iris asked. "Only fifteen more minutes." Mai said, with her geo-slate beeping, the neon light pathway still giving off its fervid glow. Nori approached Iris, tapping her shoulder. "Iris, sweetie, um, a thought just occurred to me. Are you absolutely sure we'll be able actually access the pathway into this place? Don't get me wrong, I trust that we're the Elements of Harmony an all, I mean we know it, the Tree knows it, the Map knows it, but what if the gateway doesn't?" "Don't worry, it will work." Akari said, intervening into the conversation while still holding Gallant's hand, his eyes still closed. "Iris is the Avatar, it will recognize her magic." "Magic that's still developing." "Gallant!" "Hey, don't get me wrong, I trust Iris." Gallant said, raising his hands in defense, not being able to directly face her due to his closed eyes. "But this thing was designed by Korra and the Mane Six themselves specifically. For all we know, it could have some kind of magical lock on it." "It does." Iris said. "It's designed to only recognize the Elements and the Avatar. Simple as that. My magic might be new, but it's still the same as my mother's. Why else do you think Uncle Bolin and Aunt Asami have that geode. Plus, I share Korra's DNA, it will definitely recognize me." Nori sighed, wiping a sweat she didn't know had formed above her brow. "Okay, that's a bit more reassuring." "And how exactly are we going to fight whatever kidnapped our parents when we find them?" Mai asked, turning her full attention to her cousin. Iris tugged on her father's scarf, a common habit that seemed to occur whenever she was either doubtful or frightened.  "I… don't know." she replied with regret. "Okay, a little less reassuring." Mai said rather bluntly, though her expression was one of genuine concern. She was caught off guard when her brother wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close into a side hug. "Chill, little sis. Remember, we just got back from fighting a man eating spirit plant." "We didn't exactly fight. Me and the girls just held the thing in place while Chi was the one who broke you and Gallant free. Also, our bending had no effect on it." "My point is, if we can survive that, we can survive anything. We just gotta think positive." "Nice to hear some genuine optimism around here." Chi said. "Well, he is the Element of laughter." Akari said, which earned a smug smile from Hiro. Mai playfully rolled her eyes. They continued their way, with the cave already feeling larger than before. Gallant took in the scent, which reminded him of the tranquil rivers around the Air Temple. With his eyes closed, his senses were in full effect. The scent began to remind him of the small rivers found on Air Temple Island. The sound of something got him to snap his eyes open and whip his head. "Hold on." he stopped. His hand was still attached to Akari's, prompting her to stop as well. "What is it?" "I thought I heard something." "You sure that's not just this disgusting muck I just stepped on?" Nori lifted her foot, cringing in disgust at her beautiful flat shoes now dripping with a disgusting brown substance with tints of green. Mai bent down and used her fire to get a better view of the material. "That's not muck… that's some kind liquify moss." "How is that any better?" Gallant's ears flickered when he heard the sound. "There it is again!" "I hear it too." Iris said. Everyone stood their ground, taking defensive stances as the sound increased. Chi looked downwards, realizing that the sound was coming from beneath their feet. "Nobody. Move. A muscle." The others did as she said. The ground was indeed cracking under their feet. "Everybody, back away slowly." Iris said, her voice low. "One by one." Unfortunately, when Nori tried to move slowly, she had lost her footing and slipped onto the liquid moss, landing on her bottom. Her weight was enough to cause the entire ground to crumble and the children screamed as they fell into what appeared to be some kind of rapid river underneath another cave… under the cave? As always, the spirit world's form of physics were almost as abnormal as Pinkie Pie's. The kids didn't even get the chance to question this on account of the rapid waters were already pushing them down stream. They struggled to keep their heads above water, and stay together. Akari managed to grab Iris's hand, and Iris in turn grabbed Chi. Mai caught Gallant, and Gallant caught Nori, who in turn caught Hiro. The river began to seamlessly morph into what resembled a water slide and now, rather than going upstream, they were going downstream. Really down, like a waterfall. One by one, the children landed in what felt like some kind of seaweed bed, covered in seashells, starfish, clams and barnacles. Iris and Akari landed first, followed by Chi, Hiro, Gallant, Nori and finally Mai. Each one letting out an audible "Ow! Ouch! Gah! Ump! Yeowch! Pain!" The kids groaned as they sat back up, straightening their backs and or removing whatever got stuck on them once they landed. Iris rinsed her long hair and removed a starfish from her father's scarf. "Where are we?" Gallant asked as he assisted Chi back up. "I don't know. But we're way off the track." Mai said, looking at her geo-slate, which thankfully wasn't harmed during the fall. Indeed, they were no more than a bit far off from where they originally needed to be. "And I have no idea how we're going to get back." The sound of desperate cries and squeaks echoed in the walls. The children huddled together, while getting on the defensive. "What was that?" Nori asked. "Help us!" a small, almost high pitched voice was heard. The kids looked up to see that they were in what appeared to be an underground, waterfall grotto, with six individual waterfalls all around, filling what appeared to be a pool, which was a lot deeper than it looked. Vibrant greens grew around the cave walls, seaweed and moss in the likes, and hanging from the stalagmites above was a variety of cages, made up entirely of some of kind resilient bamboo, and a variety of innocent spirits, especially children were kept inside. Their faces screamed of desperation and they all started to shake their cages and cry out to the children for help. A few smaller cages hung lower around the kids, with a family of what appeared to be sloth-like spirits, consisting of a mother and father with their three children. Gallant reached out his hand, and the youngest grabbed his finger, giving him a watery, pleading look. "Who did this to you?" "It was that monster." the mother replied. "What monster?" Iris asked. None of them needed to give an answer, for their terrified shrieks and the sound of the bubbling waters with a shadow looming from underneath was all the only answer they needed. The children stepped back as a large, scaly, and rather obese creature began to rise up from the waters which dripped right off of his vibrantly colorful scales. He was an incredibly large alligator-like spirit creature with sharp claws, a humongous tail that made the ground beneath the children shake and they all fell right off of their feet. The beast let out a mighty roar, his massive sieve towering over them and piercing red eyes staring down as more water dripped off of him, creating a rain-like effect. From their perspective, the beast looked dark in coloring, but once he leaned forward to stare at them directly, the lighting adjusted and he looks brighter than before. "Well, my oh, my oh, my! Ain't you a sight to behold!" "Huh?" the kids stared in confusion. Up close, the large alligator didn't look that scary or threatening but rather…. happy-go-lucky? He had what looked like a bone in his nose and large webbed ears with white insides and a seashell neckless around his massive neck. Iris let out a terrified scream when the alligator grabbed her with his massive hands. Akari called out her name, reaching out her hand for her, but Iris was already being lifted up to face the already silly looking creature. "I was hoping this day would come, and now it finally has!" he said, speaking in a very loud yet surprisingly friendly manner. He then slapped himself in the face. "Oh, where are my manners? Welcome to my humble abode, Queen Korra." "Oh, no, I'm not the Queen. I'm her daughter, Princess Iris." The alligator took a closer look at the teenager, squinting his eyes. "Oh. Well, what do you know. My mistake, you just look so much like your mother. Except for the eye color that is." Iris wiggled in his grip, managing to yank on arm free from his tight grip. "Yes, and as Princess I would like to know why you have all of these innocent spirits imprisoned!" she said, trying to use her most diplomatic done, though she still needed practice. "Prisoners? Oh, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong, you're highness." the alligator said, still holding the princess with one massive hand. He then felt something hit his large belly and saw Akari had started punching him. "Let our friend go, right now!" "Now, now, don't be like that, little pony." the alligator said, taking her by the wings and dragging her up to face him, hovering her right beside Iris. "Didn't your Mama teach you it's not polite to hit people?" "If they're not your prisoners, then why are they in cages?" Iris asked, not fully buying this nice act from the massive beast. "Well, I wouldn't really call em cages, per say. More like, accommodated suits so they can get front row seats to every concert!" Both Akari and Iris gave confused looks, their eyes darting towards each other and then at the gator before looking down at their friends, looking equally dumbfounded. "You guys getting any of this?" Chi asked. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the giant gator part." Nori said. "Iris, you might want to pull out that Avatar-friend-to-all-spirits card now." Akari suggested. "Right." Iris cleared her throat. If this guy wasn't so much as evil as… well, weird, maybe she could try and reason with him. "Uh, Mister Alligator Spirit, sir--" "Oh, now, please your highness, call me Uta! All my friends do, aint that right friends?" he addressed to the rest of the caged spirits, who all nodded in agreement, forcing themselves to smile. Though, Iris knew from the get go they were only faking it, and this large gator was either oblivious, or… whatever it was that was going on in his brain. "Okay, Uta. Look, I don't know what kind of thing you're running around here, but I know for a fact that my mother would not be too happy to hear about you keeping these spirits in your cave like this." "Speaking of your mother, would she be coming here anytime soon? I've got this sweet new tempo I've been working on and I would love to hear her opinion on it." "That's nice but--" before Iris could speak, the alligator started harmonizing. His voice was loud and clear, but mostly loud. He had some strong pipes, that much as certain, but his pitch was so over the top, if there were any glasses nearby he's break everyone of them in less than three seconds flat… that and anything remotely crystal within a hundred yards. The Iris finally managed to free her other arm to cover her ears, as did Akari, who had the luxury of having both hands free the whole time, while the rest of the kids and the other spirits all covered their ears, allowing their master to belt it out to his heart's content. Once he was done, he beamed wide, showing off his rather sharp teeth. "What'ya think? Am I good, or am I good?" Iris and Akari both cringed, their hands slowly lowering down from their ears. Nori was the first to step forward. "Actually, it wasn't half bad." she said sincerely. The alligator began to laugh. "Oh, hah, I knew it would be!" "However, your pitch was a tad off in some places, and your vocalizing, while stable, dragged on more than it should have." All of the caged spirits gasped in horror and the once friendly alligator suddenly froze in place. His irises shrinking, becoming slits and narrowed his eyes as he loomed over the merpony. His nostrils flaring right in her face, making her hair sweep upwards. "I beg your pardon, little pony?" he said in a more menacing tone, a near complete contrast from before. Nori adjusted her hair, keeping her calm as she spoke. "Like I said, you're not bad, your voice is obviously very strong, but your performance definitely needs some work." Uta scoffed before tossing the two princesses back to the ground, where they were assisted by Chi and Gallant. "I'll have you know, Missy, I'm the best singer in this entire realm! Why, every single one of my friends here think so." he gestured to the caged spirits, who all fearfully nodded in reply. "When I started singing, they all traveled far and wide to listen to me. Why else do you think I allow them to stay? So they can enjoy my singing every day whenever they please." "That's why you have them here?" Gallant said in shock, "Just so you can boast about how great you are?" "It's not boasting if it's the truth, boy." "Is that so?" Nori said, folding her arms rather smugly, Uta didn't like that look. Not one bit. "Wanna bet I could do it better?" Uta laughed his head off. "You? Out-shine me?" "Well, I am a merpony. We are famous for our enchanting voices." "Humor me then, little fish mare." Uta folded his massive arms. "Show me what you got." Nori cleared her throat and, after a brief moment of silence, her voice came out. Just like Uta's, it was clear as the sunniest day in summer, and her vocalizing was both high, yet calm and serene. It made one feel both empowered as well as content. Nori closed her eyes, pouring her entire heart into the vocalizing, which was like magic all around the cave. The spirits all stared in awe at how much control she had over her voice. Even Uta, though reluctantly, knew this girl was indeed talented. Once she was done, Nori opened her eyes, looking quite pleased with her example. Uta, on the other hand, growled and slammed his massive hand onto a nearby rock, causing it to crack. "You think you can come into my cave and steal my spotlight? Girl, you ain't got nothing on me!" "If you're so confident everyone here loves your singing so much, how's about we settle it with a bet?" Uta arched an eyebrow. "A bet?" "Nori, what are you doing?!" Iris exclaimed. What was she thinking? "A sing off. If I win, you let me, my friends and all of these spirits go. If you win, you get to keep them… an us." "WHAT?!" "Do we have a deal?" Nori extended her hand, eagerly awaiting for Uta to take her up on her offer. "No! No deal!" Mai exclaimed, "Nori, don't you dare--Oh, no, she did." she face palmed herself when Uta shook her small hand with his claw. "Very well, little merpony. Now don't you worry, I'll even move you kids up to the presidential sweet once I win." Nori bowed in respect. "Please, do amaze us with your talents, Sir." she said. She then gave the others a wink, which was enough to at least put Iris at ease. The merpony was a lot of things, but dumb was not one of them. "Alright then, get ready to eat your words, child. Because I'm about to blow this house down!" Uta tapped on some crystals hovering above the cave, which changed its texture, creating an opal-like affect and lights danced on the surface of the cave walls, making the waterfalls shimmer. Nori watched, unimpressed as Uta began his performance. "Ha ha ha ha ha! What d'ya call that voice, little girl? That a baritone or a tenor? Oh, I don't care! It's not on par with me!" I'll make music forever  I'll make that sweet harmony Oh, no one can match my music, baby I'll take the "do" I’ll take the "re" You better hang on to me! Ha ha ha! As his bombastic, yet powerful voice filled the cave, he danced around, wiping his tail to where the kids had to duck in cover once it zoomed right over their heads, had they not done so it would have undoubtedly ripped their heads clean off of their shoulders. Uta sang to his "audience", the caged spirits, all of which nodded and smiled fearfully in agreement to his lyrics. All those birds of a feather Always looking for the right key Oh, I'll make music forever, baby 'Cause only music makes a man free! Gonna make a beautiful song Sing all day long! Gonna let that natural beat Move your feet! When the music’s deep down in me There’s nothing that I can do But believe Oh, believe! "I hate to admit it, but he's good." Mai said, wiggling her finger into her ear. "Loud and bombastic, but good." "Yeah, but Nori's got the voice to beat." Chi said with complete confidence. Iris bit her bottom lip while tugging on her father's scarf. "I hope you know what you're doing, Nori." Nori, meanwhile, was examining Uta's performance, nodding her head and smiling the more he carried out the song. There ain't nothing like singing And my voice is the size that fits all Oh, I'll make music forever, baby Lift my voice and you'll hear it, sister! I'll make music forever, baby And we’ll always be friends! Oh, I'll make music forever, baby I'll make sweet harmony Oh I'll make- this is for you mama! Oh, I'll make sweet harmony I'll make music forever  I'll make sweet harmony Oh, I'll make music forever, baby I'll make sweet harmony Oh ho ho! I'll make music forever, baby And ever, and ever, and ever Baby! Uta held long on the last high note for a long time before finally ending his performance with a bow. He wiped his brow and sighed in satisfaction. "Tell me, little angelfish, can you beat that?" Nori let out a sigh. "No. I don't I can." she said, startling the others. Uta gave a smug scoff. "Thought so. But, don't you worry sweetie pie, I'll clean up the presidential suit real nice for--" "I said I don't think I can beat that." Nori interrupted, casually walking closer to him. "I never said I forfeit." Uta cocked his head in confusion. "What kind of game you playing here, girl?" "No game. I can never deliver the same performance as you just did, but I still hold true the fact that my performance will leave you speechless." "I highly doubt it, but it'd be impolite if I didn't allow the lady her turn." Uta bowed his head, handing her the stage. For now. Nori then nodded to Iris to walk up to her. Iris complied and the merpony whispered into her ear. "Join in once I give the signal." Iris's eyes blinked then smiled in realization. "Fifth period choir?" she whispered back. "Fifth period choir." Iris nodded and hurried back to the others, whispering what Nori had just told her. All worries from before had been completely tossed aside. Gallant rushed to the sloth family. "It's okay. You'll be out of here before you know it." "Come on girl, I don't got all day. I am a busy gator." Nori cleared her throat before singing in the most beautiful, clear voice the caged spirits had ever heard, vocalizing softly but with an equal amount of heart. It was as if the words reflected how she was feeling. Nori: Think of your fellow man…  (pause) Lend him a helping hand…  (pause) Put a little love in your heart…. She nodded to Hiro and Chi, who started harmonizing softly and in perfect sync. Uta arced an eyebrow at this, while Nori continued singing, followed by snapping her fingers to create a new rhythm. You see, it's getting late  Oh, please don't hesitate Put a little love in your heart Mai and Gallant harmonized next, followed by Iris and Akari shortly after, all while snapping their fingers to Nori's singing. Uta was still confused by this performance. And the world  Will be a better place And the world  Will be a better place for you  Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai: For you Nori: And me Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai: And me Nori: You just wait  Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai: Just wait Nori: And seeeeeeeeeee! Yeaaaaaaaah! Nori's voice rose in volume, yet remained as stable and sweet as her own voice. The rhythm soon caught on to the other spirits, who were now genuinely smiling, enjoying a live performance for the first time since they arrived here. Uta: "What's going on here? What are you doing?" Nori: "You never said I had to sing solo." Uta: "But then what's the point of singing if you can't be the star?" Nori "See, now that's where your performance falls flat, Uta." Another day goes by  And still the children cry Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai, Nori: Put a little love in your heart As they sang, Nori addressed to the other caged spirits, who genuinely enjoyed her song, and were smiling smiles Uta had not seen in a long time. They had always smiled during his private concerts, but this was different somehow. Something about the merpony singing alongside her friends, for some reason, not only made her voice sound good, but that of her friends and well. Nori: If you want the world to know  Just let the music grow Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai, Nori: Put a little love in your heart Nori: And the world  Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai: And the world Nori: Will be a better place And the world Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai: And the world Nori: Will be a better place for you  Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai: For you Nori: And me Iris, Akari, Gallant, Chi, Hiro, Mai, Nori: You just wait  And see Wait and see Oh! Uta was speechless to see all of his so fellow spirits dancing to the beat of the music, while Nori and her friends broke out into the most harmonious dancing he had ever seen. It was like they all shared the same brain. Every movement, improvised or not, was in perfect sync and almost expected. He had never seen anything like it before. Nori then started splashing onto the shallow ends of the waters, clapping her hands to the other spirits. Nori: "Come on, everybody! Let me hear ya!" Caged spirits: Think of your fellow man Nori:  "That's right!" Caged spirits: Lend him a helping hand Caged spirits and kids: Put a little love in your heart You see, it's getting late  Oh, please don't hesitate Put a little love in your heart Nori:  "Iris, show us those chops, girl!" Iris didn't hesitate to stand on a nearby rock, in between two cages with a couple of brightly colored bird-like spirits, harmonizing to the princess's powerful vocals. Iris: If you want the world to know We won't let hatred grow No, no, oh! Put a little love in your heart Caged Spirits: Put a little love in your heart Iris:  Yeah, put a little love Like her mother, she blew them all away with the strength of her voice. Uta thought Nori would be upset that there was someone else with a voice that nearly rivaled her own, yet the merpony was happy for Iris showing off her voice. Heck, she was the one who encouraged it. He even saw Hiro, Gallant and Chi doing more dancing, alongside the spirits in the cages. They never danced to his music before. Uta was just downright confused, and frightened. He had to get his audience back. He opened his mouth and rudely threw himself into the song. Uta: Oh! I'll make music forever, baby! I'll make sweet harmony! Nori:  "No, no, no. Not just you, everybody." Uta:  "But, they all love my singing. That's why they came here in the first place." Nori:  "Yes, they came for your voice, but they stayed because you forced them to. You want them to constantly praise your talents. But listen to them now." Caged Spirits and kids:  Another day goes by, and still the children cry Put a little love in your heart If you want the world to know, we won't let hatred grow Put a little love in your heart. The entire grotto came to life with happy singing and dancing. There was no one star, but millions of them. He never knew his home could look more beautiful than it already did. Maybe, he had been busy listening to himself too much to even listen to how unhappy his supposed "friends" had been this whole time. Uta:  "Huh… I didn't know they could sing that good. It's… it's actually kind of nice." Nori: "Exactly! This is what your performance was missing." Take a good look around And hear that gleeful sound Everyone: Put a little love in your heart Nori: Your voice will only grow Once you have learned to show Everyone: To put a little love in your heart Nori: Oh, oh, yeah, yeah! You can shine as bright Just got to share that light! Everyone: Put a little love in your heart Nori: And the world will be a better place Everyone: And the world will be a better place  For you  (For you) And me (And me) You just wait  (kust wait) And seeeeeeeeeeeee!! "Yeah!" finally taking the words of the song to heart, Uta began unlocking the cages of the other spirits, letting them to roam free inside the grotto. They cheered, they laughed, they hugged and celebrated their freedom. "That's what I'm talkin' about! Come on, everybody! All together now!" Uta took Nori into his large hand, where they snag together along with everybody else. Flying spirits soared all across in a synchronized dance, while those on land performed alongside the children, each demonstrating their own individual movements. Everybody: Put a little love in your heart! Uta:  Each and everyday! Everybody: Put a little love in your heart! Nori: See, there's always a better way! Everybody: Put a little love in your heart! Nori: I think it's time you start to Everybody: Put a little love in your Heeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaart! Everybody clapped and cheered, not only because they enjoyed the song, but also because the spirits were finally free. Uta gave the merpony still sitting on his large palm an apologetic look. "I'm sorry to all of ya. All I wanted was to have folks listen to my music." Nori affectionately rubbed the tip of his nose. "A wise pony once told me, it's not bad to know you're good at something, but if you only use it to get what you want, then it's a wasted talent. Your music is a gift, and like any gift, it should be shared. Because when you share it, you can make others be a star too. That's how friends are made." "So, I shine… when I make others shine?" "Now you're getting it." "I never thought of it that way." Uta then turned to all the other spirits. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt, ya'll. I just thought, since you liked my singing before, then you wanted to listen forever. But, I guess I only liked showing off and I didn't think about how you all felt. If I had known singing with all of you was this much fun I would have done it sooner. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." For a moment, the spirits were all silent, until the little sloth from earlier walked up to Uta and smiled while hugging the ends of his tail. "We forgive you, Uta." The large gator shed a tear and carefully ruffled the little sloth's hair with his claw. The rest of the spirits all cheered, showcasing that they did forgive Uta. "So, do you promise never to cage anymore spirits ever again?" Iris asked. "You have my word, princess." Uta smiled and bowed his head at Nori. "Thank you." Nori bowed as well, and then kissed Uta's nose. He blushed and chuckled before gently lowering her down back to her friends. The others wasted no time in ambushing the merpony in a tight group hug. "Nori, that was amazing!" Akari squealed. "I never doubted you for a second!" Chi said, happily punching the side of Nori's arm, followed by Mai who hugged her tightly. "Thank you for not letting us die!" "Girl, you are my heroooooo!" Hiro said, practically howling, reminiscent of his father back in his old pro-bending days. "Is there anything else I can do for you kids, don't hesitate to ask." Uta said generously. "Actually, Uta, we kind of lost our way." Iris explained. "We're trying to get to the Dark Realm." At the mention of the name, all of the spirits, Uta included, reeled back, gasping in terror. "T-T-T-T-T-T-The Dark Realm?! Why would ya'll ever wanna go there?! Don't you know only the worst of the worst live there?" "I know it's dangerous, but you see…" Iris hesitated to explain before gaining the courage. "The Elements of Harmony and more of our friends have been taken. We don't know by who, or why but we know they're being held in the Dark Realm. We have to get there." "Princess, you realize that a journey like this is suicide, right?" "Well, my mother has been through worse." Uta rubbed his massive chin. He didn't feel right sending these nice kids out on a quest like this, but then again, they probably wouldn't have come this far otherwise if it wasn't important. Plus, if the Avatar's daughter says it's important, then who was he to disagree? "You make a good point. You absolutely sure you wanna do this?" Iris was about to nod her head but first turned to her friends. She smiled in relief once they all nodded their heads and Iris nodded hers. "Yes." "Alright, then." Uta allowed them all to climb onto his large hands and lifted them up towards one of the many waterfalls of the cave. He pointed with his massive claw towards a cave behind the sparkling waters. "Just go down this tunnel and you'll reach the other side of the forest. Go right by the big stripped oak tree and keep going straight until you spot the gateway. You won't miss it." Nori gave him a curtsy. "Thank you for your help, Uta. You guys keep on singing." she and the others waved farewell as they marched on down the tunnel, while Uta and his new friends waved farewell. "So long, kids. Good luck!" he then turned to the others and smiled, "Come on, ya'll! Let's make music together!" Nori smiled upon hearing everyone singing in sweet harmony, and Iris wrapped one arm around her shoulder. "Rarity and your father would be very proud." she said. Nori blushed at the compliment. She wasn't even thinking about it at the time, she was simply trying to help Uta see the error of his ways. That he should instead share his voice with others in a way that motivates them to sing along, not to hog it all for himself. It might have taken up a bit of their time, but it was worth it. (~)